I’ll be honest, I feel like I am constantly saying the same things in my last few posts, but…. It’s been a while! My last update was May and we are currently in September of 2021. It’s been four months and what a four months it has been. I started 2021 feeling lost and overwhelmed and drowning in grief. Fast forward to now and whilst i’m still navigating all of that, I feel excited, content and happy that I finally had my first solo adventure..
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Unexpected adventures..
I’ll skip to mid August, that’s when life took a turn.. I had been invited to set sail on one of Virgin Voyages UK sailings. My mind immediately started spinning with a million questions.. what do I pack? Will I get the time off work at such short notice? Where do I even begin to get ready for this? It was a lot! Luckily for me, work allowed me the time off and I began to prepare myself. I’d never cruised before and this was a brand new cruise line. There were no reviews online or blogs to read about other peoples experiences. I was going in completely blind and to add to that, I was going on my first solo adventure..
Setting Sail.. Bye World!
Setting sail from Portsmouth, I stood at the very back of the ship and watched the world slowly slip away. In that moment I felt relief from everything I had been holding in. It was as if the further we got from any sign of life, the lighter the weight felt. That first night was the start of beautiful new friendships and ones I now hold dear. The first night I met an incredible group of people who I then spent the rest of my time with. From that point on, I have never laughed or smiled more. Every single moment were moments I wish I could bottle up and replay. From dancing in the ships nightclub, watching shows, drinking together and even laughing our way through an 80’s VHS workout, I have never felt more full of life and happy.
In typical me fashion, I got emotional when the time came to say goodbye but I truly was sad to say goodbye. Whilst they may have thought I was a little odd for that, I don’t think they realised just how much they had done for me by simply welcoming me with open arms. Grief had been swallowing me whole and yet four days of fun, laughter and simply being surrounded by truly kind individuals, was everything I needed without realising.
As I drove home, I realised I no longer felt like I was drowning and in those short four days, I had remembered that it’s okay to still be happy even when missing loved ones. It may be the cheesiest thing you’ve read, or you may agree but I will forever be thankful for those four days and the incredible people I met. With those new friendships has come so many more adventures already and I am truly grateful for them all.
To my wonderful new friends, you know who you are and if you ever read this, I adore you all and thank you..
Go it Solo..
If you have ever thought of travelling solo, please go and do it. It is incredible and I am so annoyed with myself that I didn’t do it sooner. The confidence boost you get from pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and pushing yourself to meet new people will do more for you than you may realise. My solo adventure was truly the best thing I’ve done.
Future Adventures
Since getting off the ship, I have already had quite the adventurous time. I’ve travelled up to Scotland to see family and travelled back down the country to London to meet up with the wonderful friends I made onboard the cruise. I’m heading to Spain in a few days, Tenerife later this year and I’ve booked my next cruise for March 2022. Things are truly looking up and I am back to travelling again which will always be my happy place. Grief may always be there, but it certainly won’t win.
As always, keep up with me on Instagram and I’ll see you in the next post.
With Love,
Han x
